WSI Faculty

Dr. Paul Gagnon

Dr. Paul Gagnon is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Biological Sciences and WSI. Dr. Gagnon earned his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University with postdoctoral experience at LSU and the University of Florida. Much of his research focuses on the effects of both natural and human disturbances on wetland and terrestrial plants. Paul served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Togo, West Africa, and did his master's thesis from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies in a coastal mangrove reserve in Ecuador. This and other experience with international development work make Dr. Gagnon well suited for MSU's growing Sustainability Program.

Dr. Bommanna Loganathan is a Professor of environmental/analytical chemistry with a joint appointment in the Department of Chemistry and WSI. He received MS and Ph.D. degrees in Biology and Environmental Chemistry from Annamalai University, India and Ehime University, Matsuyama, Japan respectively. Dr. Loganathan received postdoctoral training at the Great Lakes Laboratory, State University of New York College at Buffalo, NY and at the Murray State University. Dr. Loganathan's current research involves investigations on the distribution, environmental transformation, and fate of persistent organic pollutants in the environment and their effect on wildlife and human health. A major focus of his research is to evaluate the status and trends of classical as well as emerging pollutants in human constructed freshwater lakes, such as Kentucky Lake, in comparison with natural lakes and marine ecosystems and to assess effects of these compounds on human natural killer cells' ability to kill cancer cells using in vitro assays.

Dr. Gary Stinchcomb is an Assistant Professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Geosciences and WSI. Dr. Stinchcomb earned his Ph.D. in geology in 2012 from Baylor University. He served as a postdoctoral fellow at Baylor and then at Penn State University from 2013 to 2014. He joined Murray State in 2014. Dr. Stinchcomb is trained in geoarchaeology, Quaternary geology and soil geomorphology. His research focuses on mapping and quantifying human-environmental interactions from the rise of early humans to the Industrial Age. He is especially interested in quantifying human impacts on Holocene alluvial landscapes using a mass-balance/systems approach.